


Tweak's Big Dream

by Chibifukurou



Category: Octonauts
Genre: Gen, Misses Clause Challenge
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-24
Updated: 2013-12-24
Packaged: 2018-01-05 20:26:53
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,444
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1098252
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chibifukurou/pseuds/Chibifukurou
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tweak the Bunny's family was all farmers. Everyone expected that she would settle down one day and start her own garage for all the farmers to bring their tractors in. Everyone knew she had the gift for keeping anything mechanical going.</p><p>She, of course, had different plans. She had pictures of every sea creature you could imagine posted up on her bedroom walls. In school, she spent what little time she could spare helping with the marine biology club.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Tweak's Big Dream

**Author's Note:**

  * For [coprime](https://archiveofourown.org/users/coprime/gifts).



> A huge thank you to Fram for all of her lovely betaing. 
> 
> Coprime: I hope you like the story. I wasn't sure much about about Tweak's past, so I took some liberties.

Tweak the Bunny's family was all farmers. Everyone expected that she would settle down one day and start her own garage for all the farmers to bring their tractors in. Everyone knew she had the gift for keeping anything mechanical going.

She, of course, had different plans. She had pictures of every sea creature you could imagine posted up on her bedroom walls. In school, she spent what little time she could spare helping with the marine biology club.

Even Tweak would admit, while embarrassedly scratching at her long floppy ears, that it was a strange dream for a land-lubbing rabbit to have. She still remembered though, when Dr. Inkling, the founder of the Octonauts, had come to her school when she was a wee kit. He'd had a holographic sphere that had turned Teacher Hop's kindergarten classroom into the bottom of the ocean. Tweak had watched in awe as little holographic fishes had darted from the block corner over to the dress-up trucks.

Sea turtles as large as she was had glided out of the floor and disappeared through the ceiling when they reached the edge of the holographic field. It had been magical and she'd never wanted it to end. But then it was naptime and Dr. Inkling had put away his magic machines. Before he'd left he'd given each of the kids their very own Honorary Octonaut badge and certificate.  
Tweak kept her badge in a place of honor, pinned to the bulletin board above her desk. She had never seen her brother's badges or certificates again. They had all been much more impressed by Farmer Button's Vegimal presentation, later that same week.

For Tweak, though, everything that mattered was waiting for her beneath the sea.  
The day after Tweak graduated from school, she packed her mechanic’s bag and then she packed a second bag for all of her clothes, food, and family mementos. She kissed her parents goodbye and presented her bedroom key to her little sister, and started walking East, towards the Atlantic Ocean.

She had studied all the pamphlets about the Octonauts, and none of them said how Dr. Inkling picked his brave underwater explorers, but Tweak had learned patience, dealing with her fifteen brothers and three sisters. She was sure that she would find a way to meet Dr. Inkling, and once he saw what she could do with machines he'd have to let her on to the Octopod.

# # #

It took her three weeks to reach the sea, but the minute that she reached the top of the dunes, and saw the vastness of the water, like a blue, comforting blanket furled out as far as her eyes could see, she knew she was home. She pulled a large breath of the salt tinged air into her lungs and felt the breeze tickle her whiskers and ears. It was like experiencing the moment she had seen the sea-turtles glides so gracefully through the holographic display all over again.

She dropped her bags in the sand and went whooping down the dune like she was a kit again. She jumped into the water, letting it rush around her ankles and pull at her paws. It was even more amazing than she imagined.

Once she had calmed down, and taken in her fill of the beach, she went back up to the dunes and grabbed her bags. She'd need to make a shelter for the night, then she could go exploring.

# # #

Tweak had been on her beach for three months and still hadn't seen the Octopod. She knew that they came to shore near here, when they replenished their food supplies from the local farms. Perhaps she should have waited until the end of the growing season before she made her trip out to the sea.

She didn't really regret leaving home when she did. Not when she had plenty of boats to repair, and was making new friends every day. She knew all of the local seagulls by name, and had met at least a dozen expectant mother sea turtles when they came ashore to make their nests.

 

So when she heard scratching and sighing coming from outside her tent one night, she knew what to expect. Rolling out of her sleeping bag, she crawled out to see what she could do to help. She only paused to pull on her boots, and grab her lantern.

Once she was outside of the tent Tweak turned the lantern on low, and looked around for her guest. The mother turtle looked very distressed and was waddling back and forth across the sand. 

"Hello there, my turtle friend. It's a fine night for nest building. My name is Tweak, can I help you?" Tweak said.

"Oh hello, I'm sorry if I woke you. My name is Sandy," Sandy said, before turning her attention back to waddling this way and that over the dunes. "It's just I can't find the right kind of sand. It's very important, you see."

Tweak nodded. She had learned from her other turtle visitors how important it was that they get the right temperature of sand for their nests. "Can you tell me what temperature of sand you are looking for?"

"Oh yes, of course. How silly of me." The turtle giggled. "I want a nice cool nesting spot. So I can have lots and lots of little boy turtles."

Tweak scratched at her left ear, then she scratched at her right, trying to think about where there might be a nice cool nesting spot for Sandy. Finally the perfect place popped into her head. "I know the perfect place! Just follow me"

Together Tweak and Sandy headed further up the beach, away from Tweak's tent. Until finally they reached the spot that Tweak had remembered. It was a small hollow between a big rock and one of the biggest sand-dunes on the beach. Even when the sun was at its brightest it stayed nice and cool.

"It's perfect!" Sandy exclaimed and began to dig.

Tweak waited at the top of the rock, until Sandy had laid all of her eggs, and covered her nest back over again. Even with Tweak's excellent bunny vision she couldn't tell where Sandy's eggs were hidden, which meant that none of the predators that liked to eat eggs would be able to find them either. "You did a very good job hiding your eggs, Sandy."

"Thank you, Tweak. And thank you for helping me find the perfect spot for my eggs." Sandy replied, as they began to walk back down the beach together. "Is there anything that I can do to help you in return?"

Tweak thought about it for a minute. "Well if you happen to see the Octonauts, I'd be very grateful if you could let them know that Tweak the Bunny would like to join their crew.  
Sandy smiled and winked at Tweak. "I think I can do that."

Then with a jaunty wave Sandy disappeared back into the Ocean.

# # #

Tweak woke up late the next morning, after spending so long helping Sandy find her nesting spot. She had just finished brushing her ears, and putting on her hair band, when there was a loud thump from outside.

The noise was so loud that it felt like it shook the entire beach. Tweak ran outside to see what had happened, only to freeze half-way outside, when she saw what had come ashore.  
It was the Octopod. Its big, orange hull shone in the morning sunlight, and each of its eight legs looked even bigger than she had imagined was possible. She felt her mouth drop open.

Then one of the legs landed in front of her tent, and a door hissed open. To reveal a tall, polar bear in a captain’s uniform. “Hello, I’m Captain Barnacles. Are you Tweak the Bunny?”

Tweak nodded.

“Well, then, on behalf of the Octonauts, I’d like to offer you a position aboard the Octopod. A very nice sea turtle named Sandy gave you a glowing recommendation.”

Tweak’s smile was so large that it felt like her whiskers were going to fly right off. “I’d love to serve on the Octopod.”

“Then welcome aboard, Tweak. As soon as you’ve got your things together, we’re off on a very important mission to help a stranded whale.” He turned and headed back into the Octopod. 

“Be there faster than you can say 'buncha munchy crunchy carrots', Cap” She called after him. Her smile didn't shrink as she hurried to pack her bags and get inside the Octopod. She was on her way to living her dream and it was the best feeling in the world.


End file.
